Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow kicks off one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving so much, not JUST BECAUSE of the food (though that definitely helps), but because it's such a great reminder of the way we should be all the time... thankful for what we have, what we've had, what we will have. We should have grateful spirits no matter the situation, there's always something to praise God for! I know that for a lot of people, this year has been rough, the economy has not been our friend, etc... but in all things give Him praise.

I pray that as you sit and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends tomorrow, you hold on to that spirit of gratefulness... you express your thanks to your family, your friends, your co-workers, those that have given of themselves to make this world what it is, but also to God... for He is the one who has blessed us continually in all things.

I know that there are people who do not have the opportunity to spend this precious holiday with their family or friends. Please know that there are places putting on free Thanksgiving dinners for those in need of food (or just in need of fellowship). We have just a few listed on our Bulletin Board...

THR,NOV 26 11:00 AM "Praise The Lord and Pass the Mashed Potatoes," a free Thanksgiving dinner. First United Methodist Church of Lewisville / 907 W. Main St. / Lewisville $0.00 (972) 436-2533

THR,NOV 26 5:00 PM Free Thanksgiving Dinner and Concert. Legacy Worship Center / 6242 Hulen Bend Blvd. / Fort Worth $0.00 (817) 294-2900

THR,NOV 26 9:00 AM Joe's Pizza in Carrollton is offering a free Thanksgiving meal served to those in need. Joe's Pizza / 1904 E. Beltline / Carrollton
www.JoesPizzaSubs.com $0.00

I pray you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving holiday no matter what you're thankful for this year!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

It really DOES exist!

This past weekend, my family and I met up with some friends at a cabin on Lake Texoma. We just wanted to get out of town, sit around, eat (A LOT) and play games. That's what we did. It was awesome. One of the coolest things, though, had nothing to do with the cabin, the lake or our friends! On our way to the cabin, we passed by the infamous Power FM semi-trailer!



Ok, infamous to us anyway. Did you know about this thing? A while back a rad listener put the giant letters and logo on his truck. And simply by driving around, he promotes the station. Now, just a few weeks ago I was having a conversation with someone about this very truck and how we hadn't had any recent sightings reported (we would get calls going "Uh... yeah, I was just driving and this bright orange semi went past me... and it said POWER FM ON IT!"). Well, my husband, my son and I were just driving along, on Hwy 82 near Whitesboro, about to head North on Hwy 377... when I spotted it. I think I startled my husband, yelling "THE POWER FM TRUCK IS RIGHT THERE!" Haha. Anyway, I thought it was cool to track it down and to know it's still out there, promoting the station. On the way back home we stopped to snap a picture of it, just to prove that... y'know... it does exist!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Pop-Up Banner, take two

Ok, so you guys know how excited we were about our new Pop-Up Banner back in July, right? If not, read this blog/watch this video first. Ok, so we were excited about it. Well, after a few times (like, literally two times) after pulling it up and down from it's frame, the graphic began to flake off. After about four times, it stopped standing up straight. Six times... it ripped nearly in half. We were being gentle, we were taking extra special care of it... and it STILL did that. Needless to say, we were a little less excited about it by then. Dawn contacted the guy who got it for us, told him all about what happened after six uses... he said he would look into it with the manufacturer he got it from.

Turns out, the particular pop-up banner we had was really only meant to be used 1-2 times, then thrown away. WHAT?!?! No where did it tell us (or the guy who we ordered it through) anything like that. We weren't happy. The manufacturer ended up apologizing and making us a deal, giving us what was supposed to be the best quality pop-up banner they make for a great price to appease us and make up for their mistake. So, yesterday morning it came in. We were all, once again, super excited to open it up and try it out. Here's video of what happened...



Yes, seriously! It took Chris, Dawn, Jade, Eddie and Flossie to get this thing up... and the poll is too long, it will not latch on no matter what we do. We took the poll from the other ("disposable") banner and it fits fine, but is kind of thin. The new poll is more heavy duty, but too long. This is our luck, people. This is what happens to us. Haha! Anyway, we are working on getting that resolved and/or just sawing the poll off a little to get it to fit. But now we're pretty determined not to get excited over a pop-up banner... it's just not worth it.

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

What? Why? Hmm...

You never know what crazy things are going on around here. We like to leave you guessing too...

Totally geeked out!

Drue and I were talking the other day about what makes us "geek out." Working in this business, we meet a lot of people - listeners, other radio peeps, bands, musicians, celebrities - and sometimes it can become somewhat... routine (as terrible as that sounds). But then, there are those times when we run across someone we have always loved/looked up to, or we find ourselves in funny situations that lead us to (as we call it) "geek out." Ok, it happens more often that we'd like to admit, but we discussed some of our favorite "geek out" moments, and asked the rest of the staff to chime in as well. Here are some of the responses to the question, "Who DID you geek out over or who WOULD you geek out over given the opportunity?" ...

Dawn said: I’ve actually shared this with some already, in connection with the movie, The Imposter... I find it funny that Chris and I have interviewed some really awesome people in the Christian Rock industry; from Brian “Head” Welch and Toby Mac to Michael Sweet and Oz Fox. And I was thrilled to meet authors Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, whose books I devour. But the person that really made me “geek out” was Kerry Livgren, formerly of Kansas. “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son” still take me back to bittersweet memories of riding down the road in my parents lemon-yellow Dodge Dart with the windows down… I got the chance to meet Kerry when he played the part of “Prof” in The Imposter. The director introduced us and I just stood there, grinning like a cat saying something brilliant like, “ Wow….wow; wow” Not one of my finer moments.

Adrian said: I geek out every time I walk into the studio and Drue Mitchell is on the microphone...one time I went to talk to him and nothing came out I just ended up drooling all over myself...hehe. umm, I am a big fan of the band MuteMath. I have seen them five times in concert and I still get all excited about seeing them perform. One time I drove to Austin with Email to go watch them perform at Stubb's. For the record, I am not fond of approaching bands after shows because I always feel like its forced conversation that 10 million other people have told them. To me that is weird and uncomfortable, I would much rather have an interview set up. So, despite that I decided because it was MuteMath I would force through the awkward conversation and go up after the show to ask for an autograph. After the show was over with I went up to the band, however I couldn't think of anything to say. It was pretty pathetic, I was thinking to myself I shouldn't be like this because I am in radio and radio people are not supposed to be nervous around bands. However that was not the case, all I did was stand there with a cd in one hand and a sharpie in the other. I ended up getting the autograph but there was definitely a long awkward pause's of silence.

David said: I geeked out when I met Jessy from Falling Up when we went to Nashville… it was pretty funny.

Wes said: I did when I met Demon Hunter. I met them last year at thier concert. I was very nervous and studdered a whole lot and when I took pics with them my face flushed cause I was so excited. Also, when I had met Marion Barber. I was at the gym getting water and he was standing there. So I said look that's Marion barber and he walked over to me and stuck out his hand to introduce himself. Instead saying hello the first words out of my mouth were "I Love You. " He laughed and I tried to explain how I meant it but he said " it's cool, I love it when fans tell me that." I kind of embarassed myslrf but hey I love the cowboys and I am willing to say that I'd probably tell every single person on the team the exact same thing.

Amanda said: Well...I've geeked out over Mac Powell to other people, but haven't had the chance to geek out to Mac Powell :) I've geeked out to the lead singer of Augustana (one of my favorite bands), Dan Layus, but I don't think very many people know who he is. It was a beautiful moment actually :)


I also asked some of our Twitter Friends to tell us who makes (or WOULD make) them "geek out." Here are a few of those comments...

- Sarah said: brad paisley
- Damaris said: Selena. But she is dead.
- Tammy Trent said: amy grant....still do! I'm a geek AND a nerd!! LOL
- Corinne said: When I met Jon Foreman last year he said "Thank you for coming" At a loss for words, I said "Thank you for being so awesome." Duh!
- Greg said: I would geek out if I got a guitar lesson with Brian Stezer; or if I was able to do a song with David Crowder.
- Aaron said: just had haste the day respond to a tweet.. that kinda made me geek out..
- Taco Boy said: LOL well ilia and I will really geek out if I her meet demon hunter and haste the day!
- Erick Newbil from FAIR said: star struck? when I met all the guys from Blur. Amazing.


I hope you enjoyed those stories as much as I did!
Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Mysterious Fruit Smell... ???

One day our receptionist, Tiffany, turned to me and asked if I smelled Fruit Roll-Up. What, huh? No. Then a few minutes later, yes... actually, I do smell Fruit Roll-Up. Apparently for a few weeks she had noticed that the studio smelled like Fruit Roll-Up and every once in a while it would waft into the lobby area where our desks were. I went in to ask Drue if he was eating a Fruit Roll-Up or ... wearing fruity-smelling cologne (which, I don't think he appreciated, haha!)? He wasn't. I didn't really give it much thought after that. But a few days later it happened again... that fruity smell! And again, and again, and now I notice it nearly every day. It only happens in the afternoon (doesn't smell that way when I get here in the morning, or all during my shift - starts up around 4pm), smells strongest in the studio and I can't, for the life of me, pin down where it's coming from. Believe me, we've put our sniffers to work, trying to pinpoint the fruity origin.

So, today I'm sitting here, filling in for Drue and all of a sudden.... FRUITY SMELL! Out of no where. It's a mystery! I mean, at least it's a pleasant smell, not a mysterious offensive smell, right? Anyway, yes... this IS random, but I'm on a mission to find out what that Fruit Roll-Up smell is all about!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

------------------

Ok, we have figured it out! Ok... actually, I have to give Chief Engineer credit for being as smart as he says he is... HE figured it out for me, when I explained the mysterious scent to him. The smell is Christina! Haha. Christina is an employee of the radio station down the hall, and she comes in during the afternoons. The air conditioner for the two main studios in this building are linked (to each other only), so that's why her Strawberry Patch Body Spray gets sucked up from her studio and sent to us down here in this studio at the other end of the building! Wow, mystery solved! I feel better knowing what's going on now! Haha.

Instant Feedback from Twitter

Every once in a while, I like to throw out a question to the Twitter-verse, 'cause it provides some instant feedback. I realized that while I enjoy seeing the answers that come rolling in, maybe you guys would like to see it too!

Today's questions was "Quick! I need to know what your favorite Power FM song is right now! Go!"

And here are some of the responses...

• circleslide "gravity"


• come on no contest, Death of Me by RED the best song on the radio right now


• I love "Cross My Heart" by Nevertheless.


• To Know That You're Alive by Kutless


• there are so many to choose from! one of em is Abandon's "Providence" ....another "High of 75" by Relient K...the list goes on.


• To the Service by I Am Terrified! I love hardcore God lyrics!


• i'm thinkin serial sleepers by house of heroes


• My Favorite song right now on Power FM is Let's Dance by Hawk Nelson
• hmmm last night by ilia. Carry me down by demon hunter and mighty to save by don't wake aislin
• "I'll Take On More Than One" by Don't Wake Aislin!! WOO HOO!! my fave, thanks for asking. ;)
• 3-2-1 (Disciple)
• I'm a big fan of "Hearts and Minds" by Ivoryline. Those guys are great!
• "In the Valley of the Dying Sun" by House of Heroes.
• Never going back to ok, or return. How's that?
• want ad or wrecking hotel rooms by mxpx (note: haha, we don't play either of those, but thanks anyway!)
  

If you're on Twitter, make sure to follow us here.

Dallas Tap Dazzlers

It's been quite a day here at the station today. Chris & Eddie got to golf with author Max Lucado. Then this afternoon, all of a sudden a flurry of shiny red burst through the door carrying food. It was the Dallas Tap Dazzlers! They are out promoting Grandy's new Spicy Shrimp - and trust me, they were some spicy ladies. Just look at the pictures! They brought us and the other station in the building just TONS of food to try. Oh my goodness!

They did a little dance performance for us in the kitchen, and made Drue and I join in on a "toe-point" picture! Haha. Wow! It was incredibly random, I have to say, but soooo much fun to have a visit like that out of the blue. Certainly made my day a littlemore exciting!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

New video from the All Request Show!

Hey!

This is Adrian and I recently went and visited my family in Rowlett and got some footage of it on my camera. Props to Daniel for editing it up and putting it together. He made me super sllllllllllow moition in one scene its funny.
Thanks again for calling in and being apart of the All Request Show each and every night. It is an honor and blessing to be able to play you the music that you want to hear! Keep it up! This is your show and I am just apart of it....ok so now the video. Enjoy and I will try and get some more random goofy stuff soon!
Adrian


Video of Rowlett and some randomness!!! from Adrian Hummel on Vimeo.

Random updates from Drue

I just got back from Park City, Utah. I was there for some skiing and to hang with some friends, and catch some of the madness from the Sundance Film Festival. Wow, that festival is so wacky, celebrities walking around, lavish and lush parties and paparazzi all over the place. I did not see any screenings or go to any parties, I just ate good food, and did some shredding on skis.

I always let too much time get in between my random blogs where I just let it all out!!! There has been way way too much happen recently, so I have to drop some knowledge and science!! If you are looking to get the inside pooper-scooper on Spin180, DJ Drue, Eimi Hall, and all things awesome in the Christian Rock universe, well get a cup of Jo, sit back and buckle in, HERE IT COMES!

First, lets talk about the Spin 180 radio show and the Live music night 'Live in the Spin Lounge'. Recently, Seekers and I got together and talked about some of the things that have worked and have NOT worked for them. Well, due to the recent construction in front of the building and economic pressures they have had to cut but on the operating hours. Let me assure you that 'Live in the Spin Lounge' will continue on Tuesdays, and we have added something extra! Since, the success of night and the massive amounts of submissions I am getting, Seekers is going to host right before we rock the spot with spin180 an open-mic/karaoke! Starting January 27th @ 6:00p, if you want to sing or perform then head to Seekers and get signed up! Live in the Spin Lounge will still start at 8p, and we will feature -2- acoustic performances from KILLER Spin 180 artists! If you are old, or tired or just lame, no worries, its all over by 10:00p, so you can get home and have a warm glass of milk and get your binky and go to bed! That's right, the Spin Lounge is for everyone!!! Hit me up if you have any questions, but otherwise we will see you on Tuesday nights at Seekers Coffee House in Hurst, Tx. For Live in the Spin Lounge. This Tuesday January 27th we have the punk rock outfit; 'thirtyseven' and a solo performance from of local metal band 'Intrust' frontman Chris Hodges. ALSO in the Spin 180 music news, we are adding a SECOND night of 'Live in the Spin Lounge'. Starting in February, Thursdays at the Mosiac Coffee Shop inside Irving Bible Church. Everything will be the same, just an added night and location. So, for those who can't bear to miss American Idol or have to wash you cat on Tuesdays, now we have a 'Live in the Spin Lounge' on Thursday nights as well!! Thursday February 5th @ 8:00pm we have acoustic performances from; 'calmdowncasey, & my heart's cry'. Again, that is in addition to Tuesdays at Seekers and its at Mosiac Coffee Shop in Irving Bible Church. Check my myspace page or the Spin 180 myspace page for the updated calendar!!

In 2002 I bought a second technics SL1200 turntable. That is the Gibson guitars or Ferrari of turntables. I have been working at becoming a turntablist ever since. I have dj'ed shows in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Houston, and at Cornerstone Festival. One of the things that led me to dj'ing was putting to use my massive music collection. I have some touring with Manafest coming up this Spring, and several wedding and party gigs already booked, but with all of that I do have some select openings and if you need a DJ, or you have friends who are having a prom, or graduation party, LET ME KNOW. First come, first serve! Coming this summer 2009, will be my first 'artist' track, it will be available on all digital sources(*itunes, amazon, & cdbaby), so heads up!

There is a female singer/songwriter in the Dallas-area named; Eimi Hall. If you have ever heard her music or seen her live you know how talented and beautiful she is. I knew that as well, so I married her almost 4 months ago. She has some NEW material she has been working on and she has some pretty awesome gigs coming up. She will be 'Live in Spin Lounge' on February 24th with a band from Minneapolis, Mn. called;'Lazy Jake' and playing at the House of Blues Pontiac Garage on Friday February 13th with 'The Early Republic' & 'Mothers Anthem'. You can get your tickets in advance from:
http://hob.com/apps/search/index.asp?q=eimi+hall&x=0&y=0

So there are already some mind boggling and amazing shows posted on the 89.7 PowerFM bulletin board, listed in the Dallas Observer, and scheduled at some of the local venues. If you don't keep up with the new release schedule, already we have new albums coming in the next few months from; Demon Hunter, Red, Kari Jobe, Decyfer Down, August Burns Red, U2, Falling Up, Mxpx, FM Static, Everyday Sunday, Mat Kearney, Mutemath and some great local bands have new material and shows all the time . CAN I stress enough, please support the Christian music industry goto Record Stores like: Good Records, CD Warehouse, Bill's, Forever Young, Mardel's and buy music. Take flyers, show posters, stickers, or d/l cards for your own shows and projects when you do crash these Dallas music spots. Or goto 'lifestyle' type stores; Zumies, Esienberg's, American Apparel, and Urban Outfitters, and let them know about your bands music or concerts coming to town, everyone likes free stuff. I believe that when we use MUSIC as the ministry and let the people come as they are, then God will use the message or the people involved to plant a seed. I think that when we stretch our hands towards the sky using our voices and instruments to praise Him, then that allows us to reach out with love to those that need it. When we break the ice and get to know those 'new' people or try to connect Biblically on a deeper level, that allows us to be used a vessel to reach into peoples live and make a real difference.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and know that I wish you ultimate peace and blessings on your heart, life and family.

Mad respects,
-Drue K. Mitchell-

I Am Second

I admit, the billboard got my attention. Just a guy (I didn't even recognize who it was, still not sure who it was) and the words "I Am Second." Fine, I'll bite. I googled it, and found myself watching video after video of testimonies. Wow. Powerful stuff. Jason Castro (American Idol), Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers), Brian "Head" Welch (hopefully, you know who he is by now!) and more.

If I am second, who's first? Well, if you don't already know, you'll just have to find out for yourself.

IAmSecond.com

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

I just laughed so hard it hurt...I'm serious.

So, I was going to MercyMe.org to look up some info on their Home For the Holiday concert coming up in Greenville. But I got distracted (yeah, me, distracted? NEVER!) by their Cover Tune Grab Bag feature on their blog. I watched the latest one "Crazy" and laughed. Then I watched the next one and laughed harder. And well, by the 5th or 6th video, I was laughing and crying and doubling over at how ridiculous these guys are. In a good way. David had to leave the room 'cause he couldn't even take it (or actually work or something, psshhh). Mercy Me knows what they're doing. They know how to blog, how to keep their listeners coming back to their website, how to stay connect with their fans, how to have FUN (plus their "real" songs aren't so bad either). Make sure you check out Bart's dancing in the "Jesus Is Just Alright" video! These are the guys who brought you the gut-wrenching, makes-me-cry-every-time-I-hear-it "I Can Only Imagine"...and then here they are in all their glory... Oh dear.

So, if you have some time on your hands and you want a good, hearty laugh, I highly recommend checking out the Mercy Me Cover Tune Grab Bags! Whew...my stomach still hurts and I'm still wiping my eyes. My favorites were "Take On Me" and "Jesus Is Just Alright" but don't forget "Jump" and "Eye Of The Tiger" and OH MY GOSH "Ice Ice Baby"....ahahahhahah! Oh geez, just go through page after page and watch them ALL, you won't be sorry!!!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Matt Thiessen and The Thiessens

I don't know about you, but I find this hilarious...

On Halloween, House of Heroes - yes, all of the guys in HOH - dressed up as Matt Thiessen ("dreamy lead singer of Relient K") and performed on stage in Cleveland, OH as Matt Thiessen and The Thiessens...towards the end of the video the REAL Matt Thiessen even shows up!



Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Texas Fried State Fair

We hear these crazy stories every year about this time when the State Fair of Texas rolls around. Someone is always coming up with something new we can [Texas twang] DEEP FRY [/Texas twang]! This year is definitely no exception.

Topping the list: Chicken Fried Bacon!

I mean, seriously? Something as unhealthy as bacon, which is fried to begin with...then make it 10 times worse by battering it and frying it again?! Holy moo cows! Still there's a part of me that is curious. Haha! That's how they get us!

Here is a list of all things Fried: http://www.bigtex.com/foodlocator/

What do you find mind-boggling? Is there anything you can't wait to try? Let us know!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)